One big name in the field says the decrease in milk drinking is a “crisis.” Where before it was almost taken for granted that at least kids were drinking milk at home, or the health-conscious adults among us were making sure we had our daily intake of dairy, that’s just not happening as much anymore.“We cannot simply assume that we will always have a market,” Tom Gallagher, CEO of Dairy Management Inc. tells the WSJ.

In any other market area, they'd be told to stop whining and adapt. If your consumers don't want your product, make products they do want. Why isn't that happening?

Because most people think that Dairy is some government regulated health program and dont realize that it is a for profit business.

Its like a year or 2 back I remember reading about the Governor of Washington State activating the National Guard during a huge snowstorm to help ensure that the dairy deliveries were made. The only way that they could justify using government resources to help deliver dairy and not Pepsi, for example, is that people don't make the connection that is a business.

Thats also the reason they are allowed to market in schools to children. The normal rules dont apply to them.

In any other market area, they'd be told to stop whining and adapt. If your consumers don't want your product, make products they do want. Why isn't that happening?

Because most people think that Dairy is some government regulated health program and dont realize that it is a for profit business.

Its like a year or 2 back I remember reading about the Governor of Washington State activating the National Guard during a huge snowstorm to help ensure that the dairy deliveries were made. The only way that they could justify using government resources to help deliver dairy and not Pepsi, for example, is that people don't make the connection that is a business.

Thats also the reason they are allowed to market in schools to children. The normal rules dont apply to them.

Yes. This exactly. Dairy industry has been lobbying the US government for decades, and it is working. A product, just like any other, has special rules and exemptions. People have been trained to think they NEED dairy, that is is an essential part of their diet.

On the (seldom) occasions I have good discussions with people about using dairy animals for food, I always bring this up. It really surprises people when they find out all the political reasons behind the dairy industry.

In any other market area, they'd be told to stop whining and adapt. If your consumers don't want your product, make products they do want. Why isn't that happening?

Because most people think that Dairy is some government regulated health program and dont realize that it is a for profit business.

Its like a year or 2 back I remember reading about the Governor of Washington State activating the National Guard during a huge snowstorm to help ensure that the dairy deliveries were made. The only way that they could justify using government resources to help deliver dairy and not Pepsi, for example, is that people don't make the connection that is a business.

Thats also the reason they are allowed to market in schools to children. The normal rules dont apply to them.

Yes. This exactly. Dairy industry has been lobbying the US government for decades, and it is working. A product, just like any other, has special rules and exemptions. People have been trained to think they NEED dairy, that is is an essential part of their diet.

On the (seldom) occasions I have good discussions with people about using dairy animals for food, I always bring this up. It really surprises people when they find out all the political reasons behind the dairy industry.

yeah. at this point it's a catch 22. the only way it'll become illegal is if the government is educated on how much money in healthcare (and subsidies) they'll save if animal food subsidies are cancelled. and i don't see that happening any time soon.

At its most basic, lobbying can educate legislators about industries with which they might not be familiar. If an industry needs something changed, they can send somebody in to say "here's what is causing us problems; here's what would help," and ideally, a legislator can take that information, balance it against other information (from other lobbyists or whoever) and make an informed decision.

Unfortunately, that's not how it necessarily works in practice, but it's not inherently bad.

can you imagine how much more the industry would be hurting if they didn't have the contracts for public schools, and had their own special spot on the food pyramid?

I love how they try to make cow milk seem so natural, and plant based milks seem so processed and weird, when in reality...

Yeah, the whole milk in schools thing is kind of nuts. I remember in high school mentioning that milk wasn't necessarily great for you, and three kids responded with lines word-for-word from milk advertisements.

Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2011 11:51 amPosts: 8120Location: United States of New England

My MIL grew up on a farm and seems to be under the impression that drinking either un-pasterized or un-homogenized (im sorry I cant keep those things straight) milk is like the most natural thing in the world and the greatest thing for you. She also seems to think that not drinking milk is somehow anti-farmer. Cause that’s where all the milk comes from is teeny tiny mom and pop dairy farmers who have three cows that all sleep in bed with them at night and not giant factory farms…..Then someone at work had a baby earlier this year and I guess had some issues for awhile that they finally figured out was a milk based formula allergy so they had to switch him to soy. She was like freaking out. “HES GOING TO BE DEFICIENT IN SOMETHING!!!!” I was like “what? Deficient in cow-ness??”It’s very interesting how deeply ingrained it in into our psyche’s that we somehow NEED dairy products. I feel like the emphasis on this has shifted from milk to yogurt. A lot of people don’t necessarily like the taste of milk but might like the taste of yogurt and they eat yogurt because YOU HAVE TO. HOW ON EARTH WOULD YOU GET CALCIUM OTHERWISE!!!!!